Zero-turn riding lawn mowers are popular because they can maneuver in very tight areas. Aerators are devices having soil-penetrating tines that, in some cases, are mounted on the front of mechanized lawn equipment. Usually the penetration depth of the aerator tines is determined by adding a weight on the aerator frame. However, as far as I know, no lightweight aerator attachment can be readily mounted on the front of certain zero-turn riding mowers in which the weight of the mower is used to apply down pressure on the aerator tines.
Prior art illustrating aerators mounted on the front of mechanized lawn equipment may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,604 issued Mar. 16, 1971 to Patrick Leo Allard et al. for xe2x80x9cSoil Penetrating Implementsxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,025 issued Jun. 5, 2001 to James W. Myers et al. for xe2x80x9cAeratorxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,768 issued Mar. 21, 1995 to Clarke H. Staples for xe2x80x9cAeratorxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,391 issued Jun. 19, 1979 to Boyd D. Clements for xe2x80x9cSoil Aerating Devicexe2x80x9d.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide a lightweight aerator attachment that can be mounted on a zero-turn lawn mower to apply the weight of the mower as a downward pressure on the aerator tines. One advantage of the preferred embodiment, which will be described in greater detail, permits a lightweight aerator attachment to be quickly attached to commercially available, zero-turn lawn mowers.
Another advantage is that the attachment permits the operator to adjust the penetration depth of the aerator tines into the ground by using the weight of the lawnmower.
Another object of the invention is to provide an aerator attachment having a linear actuator for raising and lowering the aerator drum, the actuator being entirely mounted on the aerator structure.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.